MARCH 1, 1954: PUERTO RICAN NATIONALISTS. While members of the US Congress were debating a bill concerning migrant Mexican workers, at least four people were killed in a terror attack by Puerto Rican nationalists. It was part of the push for nationhood for Puerto Rico and a push back at US colonialism. The attack came four years after a failed assassination attempt that targeted then-president Harry Truman (1950). Two years earlier, in 1952, a significant majority of Puerto Ricans voted for “commonwealth” status. Some nationalists called the vote a farce”. (From left) Puerto Rican nationalists Irvin Flores Rodríguez, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Lolita Lebrón and Andres Figueroa Cordero are seen in a police lineup in this March 1, 1954 photo, following a shooting attack at the U.S. Capitol. Cancel Miranda, the last surviving member of the group, died at his residence in San Juan, Puerto Rico on March 2, 2020. AP files
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